COMMUNITY-ACTION

INITIATIVES BASED ON ITS

CORE VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES
TASK 1: What came first into your
mind upon seeing the picture below?
TASK 2: Arrange the jumbled letters to form the
appropriate terminologies necessary for this lesson.

AVLUSE = ________________
MUSSANOITP = ___________
ELPICPRIN = ______________
What Do We Mean by Values,
Principles, and Assumptions?
The terms values, principles, and
assumptions are sometimes used as if they
all mean the same thing – the underlying
on which we base our dealings with
the world.
In fact, although they are all “truths” to some
extent, they are different in meaning and
substance. Although we realize how similar
they are, we’ll try to consider each of the
three.
Understanding the definitions of the aforementioned
terms will help us sort out especially when we operate
on facts or well-examined experiences, when we apply
moral or ethical rules or judgments, and when we
respond to emotions or biases or unexamined
“knowledge” that may not be accurate.
VALUES
Values are our guidelines for
living and in choosing the right
behavior. Each of us has a set of
deeply held beliefs about how
the world should be. For some
people, that set of beliefs is
largely dictated by a particular
religion, denomination/ sect,
culture, peer group, or the
society at large.
For others, it has been arrived at through careful thought
and reflection on various experiences. For most of us, it is
probably a combination of the two. Values often concern
the core issues of our lives: personal relationships,
morality, gender and social roles, race, social classes,
and the organization of the society, to name just a few.
PRINCIPLES
Principles are the
fundamental scientific,
logical, or moral/ethical
“truths” arising from
experience, knowledge, and
values on which we base
our actions and thinking.
ASSUMPTIONS
Assumptions are the next level of
truths. The ones we feel to be
irrelevant we can take for granted,
given the principles we have
accepted. If we accept, for instance,
that life is an “unalienable right” – a
right of every human being that
cannot be taken away – then we will
usually assume that killing another
person is wrong, or at least that we
don’t have the right to do it.
COMMUNITY
ACTIONS
Community Action is any
activity that increases the
understanding,
engagement, and
empowerment of
communities in the design
and delivery of local
services.
Why is community
action important?
Community action is
necessary because it
focuses on putting
communities at the heart of
their own local services.
 CORE 1. Human Rights
VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES Human rights are universal and
OF inalienable. All people everywhere
in the world are entitled to them.
COMMUNITY-
ACTION
INITIATIVES “All human beings are born free
and equal in dignity and rights.”
HUMAN
RIGHTS
No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis
of race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual
orientation, religion, political or other opinion, national, social
or geographical origin. The rights of everyone to an adequate
standard of living cannot be compromised at the expense of
other rights, such as the right to health or the right to
education, property, birth or other status as established by
human rights standards
Rights are inherent to all human beings regardless of
race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any
other status. Human rights include the right to life and
liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of
expression, the right to work and education, and many
more.
In essence, the human rights-based approach
is the way in which human rights can be
protected in clinical and organizational
practice by adherence to the underlying core
values of fairness, respect, equality, dignity
and autonomy.
 2. Social Justice
CORE
VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES Social justice is a concept of fair and just
OF relations between the individual and
society.
COMMUNITY-
ACTION This is measured by the explicit and tacit
INITIATIVES terms for the distribution of wealth,
opportunities for personal activity, and
social privileges.
 SOCIAL
JUSTICE
Social justice assigns rights and duties
in the institutions of society, which
enables people to receive the basic
benefits and burdens of cooperation,
including taxation, social insurance,
public health, public school, public
services, labor law and regulation of
markets, to ensure fair distribution of
wealth, and equal opportunity.
It is based on the concepts of human rights and
equality, and can be defined as "the way in which
human rights are manifested in the everyday lives
of people at every level of society". A number of
movements are working to achieve social justice in
the society.
Social justice principles refer to values “that favor
measures that aim at decreasing or eliminating inequity;
promoting inclusiveness of diversity; and establishing
environments that are supportive of all people. "The
social justice principles include equity, diversity and
supportive environments.
 3. Advocacy and Empowerment
CORE Empowerment - Authority or power given to
VALUES AND someone to do something.

PRINCIPLES
OF - Seeks to engage local populations in
development projects.
COMMUNITY-
ACTION Advocacy - Public support for or
recommendation of a particular cause or policy.
INITIATIVES
An advocate is someone who provides advocacy
support when you need it.
ADVOCACY AND
EMPOWERMENT
Empowerment and advocacy are social democratic practices
that enable people to overcome barriers and contribute to
practice a focus on social justice. They enable social workers
to help give people chances to better understand and change
their lives. Both are concerned with a shift of power or
emphasis towards meeting the needs and rights of people
who otherwise would be marginalized or oppressed.
Social work skills: Empowerment and advocacy.
Qualified social workers are expected to have the
necessary skills to empower service users to participate
in assessments and decision-making and to ensure that
service users have access to advocacy services if they
are unable to represent their own views.
 CORE 4. Participatory Development
VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES Seeks to engage local
OF populations in development
COMMUNITY- projects.
ACTION - A process wherein stakeholders
INITIATIVES can influence and share control
over development.
Participatory Development
To give the poor a part in initiatives designed for
their benefit in the hopes that development
projects will be more sustainable and successful if
local populations are engaged in the development
process.
 CORE 5. Gender Equality
VALUES AND
PRINCIPLES Gender equality, also known as sexual
OF equality, is the state of equal ease of
access to resources and opportunities
COMMUNITY- regardless of gender, including
ACTION economic participation and decision-
making; and the state of valuing
INITIATIVES different behaviors, aspirations and
needs equally, regardless of gender.
 GENDER
EQUALITY
Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy
the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of
society, including economic participation and decision-
making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations
and needs of women and men are equally valued and
favoured.
 Remember:

CORE VALUES and

COMMUNITY ACTION is any
PRINCIPLES of community-
activity that increases the
action initiatives includes
understanding, engagement
Human Rights, Social Justice,
and empowerment of
Empowerment and Advocacy,
communities in the design
Participatory Development
and delivery of local services.
and Gender Equality.
 Remember:
HUMAN RIGHTS is defined as the
supreme, inherent, and inalienable
rights to life, to dignity, and to self-
development. It is concerned with
issues in both areas of civil and
political rights and economic, social
and cultural rights founded on
internationally accepted human
rights obligations.
SOCIAL JUSTICE is a concept of fair
and just relations between the
individual and society. This is
measured by the explicit and tacit
terms for the distribution of wealth,
opportunities for personal activity,
and social privileges.
 Remember:

EMPOWERMENT AND
ADVOCACY are social GENDER EQUALITY is
democratic practices that achieved when women and
enable people to overcome men enjoy the same rights
barriers and contribute to and opportunities across all
practice and observe social sectors of the society.
justice.
Task 1: A Human Rights Tree.
Procedure
1. Draw a tree on a large chart paper.
● Write on the tree (in the form of leaves, fruits, flowers, or branches)
those human rights that they think all people need to enjoy and
practice in order to live a dignified life.
● A human rights tree needs roots to grow and flourish. Give the tree
roots and label them with the things that make human rights flourish.
Examples are healthy economy, the rule of law, or universal education.
 The Lesson of a Broomstick.
“Together, Everyone Achieve More”
Each and every one of us can contribute for the development of our community
because each of us has talents, knowledge and abilities. By sharing our 3Ts’ (Time, Talent
and Treasure) we can make a difference in other people’s lives, in our community and by
doing this, we will find out that we are also making a difference in our own lives. The
commitment of each and every one of us is important in attaining this goal. Just like what
Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales said, “ ’
.” If only we have the commitment to work together, we will surely
achieve our dreams for our community. Each one of us can contribute for the development
of our community whatever color, gender, or social status we have just like the battle cry of
“Gawad Kalinga.” No one is too poor that he cannot share. No one is too poor that he
cannot care.”